Sugar and Spice
by Lulubai
Summary: Reborn calls upon a girl named Satou, a girl famed for her "smelling" capabilities, to help assemble the Vongola Family. OC/Gokudera. The re-written version.
1. Chapter 1

i don't know if anyone remembers this but this used to be a story on here but they took like 50 chapters to fall in love so i decided to rewrite it but i forgot that i was rewriting it and only remembered last night. i had managed to rewrite like 3 chapters so i'll go ahead and publish them over a few weeks while i try and get caught up. wish me luck in being able to rewrite all of it ! i hope you guys like it yayy

i39 . tinypic . com (/) 2z6bc4l . jpg

oops almsot forgot this ! pic of satou i had drawn without spaces and parentheses wow they make it hard for a girl out here bye for real

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Japan. She was traveling all the way from Italy to Japan. It was a tedious trip where her sleep was limited by the intervals at which the planes stopped to transfer the passengers. She was following after Shamal, who had left to visit the Vongola's Tenth. To the best of her knowledge, he had a disease that caused his innermost secrets to sprout across his skin relentlessly.

Despite Shamal being there, that wasn't the reason Satou was traveling to Japan. Reborn had requested her to be there while the Tenth established his Mafia family. She was to make sure that no weaklings were to slither their way past Reborn's eyes - while he focused on the Tenth - and into the Mafia.

Mafias were nothing new to the child. She was born from within them, and she had stayed away from them for a good length of time. But she had decided that she was ready to return to them a year or so ago; she was ready to dwell in them. You see, she had a rather strange and uncanny ability attached to her being. She could smell things. Any types of things. Where one bought their shoes, what type of shampoo they used, what they had for lunch…

Meanwhile in Japan, Reborn was busy cautioning Sawada Tsunayoshi about the girl's odd antics. He should never ask questions when she began to speak hysterically without intellect, for that would only bring on more words that he wouldn't be able to comprehend even if he tried. Avoiding the need to be unfriendly helped in keeping her composed, too. It wasn't that she would thrash out a can of whoop ass, because she was too feeble to even attempt. But that didn't mean that she didn't have a temper, because she did. And it was an uneasy one.

After catching a taxi cab and traveling to the young boy's home, she set herself in front of his door. She took a deep sigh to restrain her emotions, and tentatively reached to tap on the door with her knuckles. Just as her skin was about to connect with the wood, her nose perked at the arrival of two males.

"JUUDAIME!"

Satou was thrown to the side without care, ending up in the flawless jade grass beside the concrete walkway. The sun hat that was previously atop her head landed beside her, and she was quick to return it atop her unruly hair. She glowered miserably, having not expected such a horrible welcome.

"Hey, are you okay!?"

She raised her head, finding a black-haired boy holding his hand out to assist her in standing back up. What a gentleman! "Thank you." She took it gently, and he escorted her to her feet. Satou readjusted her straw sunhat to perfection before picking her suitcase off the ground.

"Sorry about that," he apologized as he crammed his hands into his pockets. "Gokudera's…Gokudera."

She paid little to no attention to his apology, her attention focused upon his being. She circled around his body, her head bobbing when she encountered desirable features. There were things she paid the most attention to, such as muscle size or the smells that accompanied clothing.

"Um…" His gaze followed after her awkwardly, his brow arched. "I'm Yamamoto Takeshi."

"I see." She pinched a small spot of cloth on his sleeve and brought it to her nose. "I see…Kiraime Satou." She sniffed once before releasing it.

"Excuse me?"

"Kiraime Satou," she repeated, her eyes finally meeting his. A genuine smile lit up her face as she held out her hand. "Nice to meet you!"

"Yeah. Same here." He clutched her hand, squeezing it with a shake.

"You have a nice, strong handshake, Takeshi-kun!" She laughed enthusiastically before turning towards the door, deciding to give entering the house a try once more. "I can tell you play sports, am I right?"

"Yeah! How'd you know! ? I bet you're here to see Reborn. What a cute kid." He tapped an index finger against his chin. "So you must be part of this Mafia roleplay, too!"

Satou roared with amusement as she entered the home. "I love your sense of humor, Takeshi-kun!"

"Ah, Satou." Reborn let go of Tsuna's arm, which he had been holding forcefully behind the boy's back moments ago. "Ciaossu."

"Reborn-sama." She bowed deep as she held her hat to keep it from toppling over.

"How was your trip?"

"Very well, thank you." Satou found herself bowing once more, out of nothing but pure respect. "But, um, if you don't mind, shall we get to business?" The sooner she could finish this mission and get paid, the sooner she could return to Shamal. She hated being parted from him. He was her mentor, her sensei, her reason for the all things she did.

"Of course. This is Dame-Tsuna, the Vongola's Tenth." Reborn lifted a hand to the boy he had just finished strangling.

"PLEASED TO MEET YOU, DAME-TSUNA-SAMA!" As the words escaped her mouth, she cringed. Dame…That was a joke, wasn't it?

"Hey! Who does that girl think she's talking to!" the silver-headed boy snarled. "THE ONLY THING '_DAME_' HERE, IS YOU, BITCH!"

She dropped her baggage, eyes wide. She had only been here for a few seconds, and she was already losing control! Her mind continued to whisper her charm school rules to her conscience, while her instincts were busy ignoring them with ease. "WH…**WHAT DID YOU SAY**,** YOU LITTLE MOTHERFUCKER**!?"

"I SAID YOU'RE A DAME BITCH!" He reached for his pockets, pulling out what she identified as…dynamites! ?

"Oh." She smoothed the waist of her sundress down, fanning her forming sweat away with her hat. "I thought you called me a dame…Well, I'm not going to repeat such a word, but it wasn't pleasant."

"I DID!"

"So, Reborn-sama, who is this lad?" She asked pleasantly. The cool wind from her fanning calmed the rising heat of her anger, and she felt herself at ease.

"This is Gokudera Hayato."

"I see." She returned the hat to her head. She attempted to force a smile to her lips and succeeded. "Pleased to meet you, Hayato-kun!"

"DON'T ADDRESS ME AS IF WE'RE FRIENDS!"

She feigned a laugh. "He has spunk! You've been doing a great job so far, Reborn-sama. But just two isn't going to cut it, I'm afraid."

"Yes. The others will need to be selected with your help."

"Well, you've got it."

_"DIE, REBORN!"_

"Who is this boy?" Satou blinked at the young toddler who entered the room. He had a large afro atop his head and was dressed in a cow-printed jumpsuit. Two horns protruded from the sides of his afro. The hateful intent which he held was astounding.

"Hm? Has someone entered the room?" Reborn asked as if the boy didn't exist.

"DON'T IGNORE ME! IT IS I, LAMBO!"

"Lambo? What a cute little kid." The blonde bent down to the child's level and extended a hand to him. "I'm Satou." She grinned like one would with a sensitive child, but remained wary of his snot-covered hand.

His hand neared hers. Where she expected there to be a handshake, there was none. Instead, she found herself to be holding a grenade.

Puzzled, she placed it back into his tiny hands. "No. You can keep it." She ruffled his afro politely before standing back up and approaching her bags.

_Boom!_

"All kids should be that lively!" She beamed.

Tsuna and Hayato gawked in disbelief. Takeshi just laughed as if it was a joke that never got old. Reborn carried on like it never happened.

"So, where will I be staying?" Satou asked, eyes scanning through the living room.

"You can take Tsuna's bed," Reborn answered.

"WAIT! WHAT!?" Tsuna jumped up before getting punched to the ground by the hitman.

This was going to be fun.


	2. Chapter 2

Kiraime Satou had been working all week long. Every day she followed the same routine to seek out family members, starting from the moment she awoke.

In the beginning of the day, she would scout the neighborhood for possible family members, using only her nose and a notepad that she used to write down her thoughts. The majority of the neighborhood was weak, and this made her job harder. "What about Bianchi-san?" Satou asked, scribbling an address down on her yellow notepad. Reborn was perched upon her shoulder.

"It would be troublesome to have her as a Guardian, especially since Gokudera has problems with her face," he explained.

"Yes, yes. You're absolutely right." She flipped her notepad back a few pages to scratch a few lines out. "Strange boy, that Gokudera."

Around the middle of the school day, she would search the Namimori school grounds. Reborn warned her of a beast that housed its containment. On top of the roof, they watched him through a binocular device.

"His name is Hibari Kyouya. Interesting, don't you think, Satou?" Reborn asked before passing the binoculars over to the young girl by his side.

She lifted the lens up to her eyes, watching the boy yawn tiredly in his office. "He's definitely got more than Tsuna-sama. Like a two, three. But I haven't seen him fight yet, though I don't think I need to. He's undoubtedly dangerous. One, two, definitely."

She held an extensive interest in Hibari Kyouya, with a mild interest in Mochida Kensuke and Sasagawa Ryohei. Gokudera Hayato and Yamamoto Takeshi were already accepted into the Vongola Decimo's mafia family, the decision having been finalized by Reborn and the Vongola Nono.

Towards the end of the day, she would scout the other areas around Namimori, including parks, stores, and restaurants. She would often be accompanied by Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto.

"U-Um…Kiraime-san…," Tsuna gulped. She was off to the side, sniffing a street vendor to an extremely personal point.

"Too salty," she concluded before moving on to the next one.

After returning home to Sawada's house, she would compile all of her notes together with Reborn. She discussed with him an intelligent boy that was top of the Student Council, along with a man that sold homegrown vegetables. Reborn seemed disinterested in either of them, and she proceeded to rip the pages out of her notebook until none remained.

"Is this harder than you thought?" Reborn asked.

"I've had worse, but this isn't the best. It's always the younger ones that are the most difficult." She rested her chin in her palm and gazed down at her useless notes with a sigh.

Towards suppertime, she would help Nana prepare the meals. She had no knowledge of recipes or kitchen utensils, so her responsibility rested in keeping the toddlers, I-Pin and Lambo, out of her way whilst she cooked. After serving supper, she would eat with the family. It was much different from what she was used to, with Shamal forcing her to make an instant meal in the microwave. He would take the meal to the living room, pop open a can of beer, and watch the television until tapping off into sleep. She was not used to sitting at a loving table and listening to stories, being asked about her day, and passing plates to others.

Satou enjoyed helping Nana around the house. The mother was always cheerful and forgiving, just like Satou strived to be. How one became so lively and motherly was beyond her understanding. Was it a mannerism that was passed down by genes? Or was it simply an engraved personality trait that one acquired over years of training? She figured only someone like that of a genius would be able to answer her questions. And as there were none but Reborn that lived in the house, she kept them to herself.

She sighed, scrubbing leftover, dried ketchup off a plate with a warm sponge. Kyoko and Haru would be good mothers, she thought. They had that warm quality, as well. How proud they must be to be so blessed. Haru was a little clumsy, sure. But she meant well. Unlike Satou, who always had a mischievous sense about her. How could she not? She would rather watch a fight than scrub dishes any day.

The weekends were her days off work from the Vongola. The majority of the time, she was transported to other countries to finish jobs for other clients. The money she gained from these jobs were wired to Shamal's bank account. She often checked the state of this bank account with the use of a computer. One day, they would be out of debt. And the next, back into debt. Shamal was not the best with money.

However, on this particular day, she did not have any clients or jobs to satisfy. She had been on the couch most of the day, watching television. Gokudera had arrived early in the afternoon for Tsuna; they were to go to the arcade for the day. Tsuna, however, had not been anticipating Gokudera's arrival and was not dressed for the occasion. Hayato sat on the armchair adjacent from the couch Satou was sprawled upon.

There was a magazine in her hand and bubblegum in her mouth. Atop her head was her signature sunhat. Her emerald eyes left an image of expensive shoes to catch a glimpse of Hayato. She figured she should be polite and strike up a conversation. She cleared her throat and refocused her vision upon the magazine before speaking, "So, where are you and Tsuna-sama going?"

"None of your damn business!" he retorted angrily.

"Oh," was her nonchalant reply. She flipped a page with a pop of her bubblegum. Outside, she was as calm as the sea on a sunny day. Inside, she held the wrath of a tornado. The sound of feet pacing down the stairs echoed throughout the living room. Satou looked up from her magazine to find Tsuna at the bottom of the stairs.

"Have fun," she called as they left. Tsuna thanked her, and Gokudera scoffed. After they shut the door behind them, she immediately stood up from the couch and placed her magazine on its cushion. She glanced around the rooms momentarily to ensure that she was alone. At last, she was alone. She first relished the smell of the couches. Living in a new place, she made it her mission to learn the scent of everything – from every piece of furniture, appliance, and clothing. She moved her way up the stairs to Tsuna's room, where she invaded his closet. Engrossed entirely in the scent of his gym shoes, she failed to notice the tiny being behind her.

_"Satou."_

She shrieked and dropped the shoe. "Uh, uh, uh. R-Reborn-sama…? Why are you dressed like a hockey puck?"

It was true. His attire was circular and black, with only a hole for his head. His tiny voice answered, "Tsuna thinks he is going to the arcade to play games, but I've hired an assassin to eliminate him upon his arrival."

Satou cocked a brow and lifted one side of her upper lip. "That's a little extreme, don't you think?" Reborn always did have rather extreme learning style, but this really topped most of what she had seen.

"Only if he dies," he said before turning around dramatically.

Her brow did not sway from its cocked position. "Well…Good luck…" She lowered her questioning gaze back to Tsuna's shoes.

This was how the majority of her days went, idle and calculating.


	3. Chapter 3

Satou always loved this time of the year. She was especially happy today, because it was a weekend. That meant that none of the boys had school, so she could tour the town with them. Of course, she always had to be on the lookout for potential Vongola members.

She would point out random, hefty-looking men and ask what the boys thought about them. Hayato would always give some arrogant comment of disapproval. Tsuna would try to hide himself to act like he had no idea who Satou and Hayato were when they argued.

Hayato really was the only one that Satou would argue with. He was just so cocky and displeasing. She really hated him, even if she did enjoy his scent…just a little…maybe a bit…

"The sakura should be in full bloom today. It looks like a good day to go sakura viewing," Takeshi announced.

"It's still early, so we should be able to get good spots!" Hayato added.

"What about him?" Satou pointed to a man who was dragging a line of fish into a seafood shop.

"Too old," Gokudera shot.

She glared. "You're just afraid of someone taking your stupid, consigliere spot. Which wouldn't be hard, you know. A _monkey_ could do a better job than you. Always putting Tsuna-kun in dangerous situations!"

He scoffed. "Damn stupid woman. You go around smelling things all day. What's so great about you?"

"At least I'm not a sexist, bomb-wielding idiot!"

"Say that to my face!" Hayato immediately pulled lit bombs out from some crevice of his body. He didn't scare her, not even if he had a million of his cheap bombs. She knew the true face of danger, and this teenage boy wasn't even close to it.

"Gokudera-kun, Kiraime-san, please stop!" Tsuna pleaded. "We're almost home!"

"You better listen to your Juudaime-sama, boy," Satou scowled. They arrived at Tsuna's home, seeming to end the conversation altogether. Satou brought her hand to her nose. "Eww! It's Bianchi-chan's cooking that I smell!" They all stepped through the door, but Tsuna was the first one to rush into the kitchen in search of Bianchi.

"HEY, BIANCHI! YOU AREN'T GOING TO KILL PEOPLE JUST TO GET A SPOT, ARE YOU!?"

Reborn greeted Satou, Yamamoto, and Gokudera at the door, explaining to them that they were going to view the sakura in the best spot, regardless of who rightfully claimed them first. Satou had never taken time off while she was in Japan to view sakura with friends. She stayed in school most of the time, so this was making her extremely excited.

The pink of the sakura blossoms, compared to the jade of the beautiful grass, was unrivaled. Satou had never witnessed such a beautiful site. The walkway through the park didn't interfere with the stunning trees, but did give one the ability to examine their elegance. There were benches set off to the side in the grass; the wind was blowing the leaves of the trees through the air.

It was the most amazing thing that she had ever seen.

"WOO, LUCKY!" Takeshi shouted.

Satou's eyes fell open in fear. "Uh, guys…"

"Now I don't have to die!" Tsuna grinned, more worried about his life than the sight itself.

She began to tug on Tsuna's sleeve. "Guys, guys!"

"We're the first ones here!" Gokudera balled his fist up, swollen with pride.

"Guys, we have to get out of here!" Satou screamed.

_"This place is off-limits."_

Everyone turned around, finding a tremendously built man with a weird hair-do. He might have looked rather intimidating, but he was the least of their worries. Satou smelled something even worse lurking in the shadows.

"All the sakura trees around here have been reserved. Scram," he demanded forthrightly.

"Hm?" Hayato asked, a cigarette cocked in-between his lips.

"Hey, that's not fair. It's not like this private property." Yamamoto frowned. Gokudera's face seemed to scrunch up in anger.

"I never said that this was open for discussion. If you don't leave, you better watch out."

"_SHUT UP_!" Hayato threw his knee into the man's stomach. He watched him wither in pain on the ground, a fuming look still present on his face. "Shit!" he spat.

"Gokudera!" Tsuna gasped.

"Protect me with your life, Hayato-kun!" Satou gripped the back of his shirt when the real danger began to grow closer.

"Hell no! I'm not protecting you with anything of mine!"

_"I was wondering who was being so noisy. So it's you guys?"_

There, below the sakura tree, stood the number one thing that Satou was afraid of in the whole world.

"HIBARI-SENPAI!" Tsuna looked down at the weird hair-do man, suddenly noticing the patch on the man's right upper arm. "AH! He's a member of the disciplinary committee!"

"I don't want to view the sakura with a crowd," Hibari announced with a brash smirk. "So I got him to chase people off." He turned his head to his subordinate. "But it seems you weren't of much use. I'll take care of the rest."

"P-President." He stumbled to get onto his knees in an attempt to stand, maybe even run away.

"Weaklings…" Hibari slammed his tonfa into the man's stomach, sending him flying many yards away. "…should just decompose."

"He's beating his own people!"

That's why he seemed so important to Satou, yet scared her in such a way that there were no words to describe. He was ruthless, just like every mafia member should be. That's how it was explained to her, though she still found compassion a significant quality. Her father figure was a prime example.

_"Ah, what a nice view. Sakura-viewing is such a nice thing."_

The voice sent shivers down Tsuna's spine. He and the other two boys turned around slowly.

"Ah~! Gross! It's all men!"

"DOCTOR SHAMAL!"

Satou poked her head out from behind Hayato at the name of her sensei. A bottle of alcohol adorned his hand. He had the usual five o'clock shadow, and his tie was loosened considerably. He looked pathetic, just like she remembered.

Satou approached her sensei, waving her arm about to greet him. "Shamal-sensei! Shamal-sensei!" She hopped to the spot in front of him. "He—" She stopped, turning her head to look downwards at Shamal's hands on her chest. She looked back up at him with a smile. "Haha! You're so silly, Shamal-sensei! You can stop now!"

"Eh, eh?" He felt around skeptically. "You haven't grown at all, Satou!"

Her grin fell into a very plain and bland face. "I'm serious. You can stop it now."

"But how old are you now? They shouldn't be this sma-!"

"That guy only helps women!" Tsuna's loud voice broke through their conversation.

Shamal noticed the nearby Hibari and dragged himself over to the boy. Satou reached out towards her sensei, but he was already gone. Oh, well. He deserved what he was going to get anyway. "Drunken bastard," she hissed.

"Heeey~! Aren't you feisty," he slurred in the face of the prefect. "You have a sister?"

"Scram." Hibari wasted no time in throwing his tonfa into the doctor's face. Satou sighed at the uselessness he displayed while he was intoxicated. It was terrible, really.

Gokudera was the first to fight Hibari. He charged in with two lit bombs in his grasp. Satou knew they were all no match for this monster. She partially debated if even Shamal could compare. Kyouya threw his tonfa towards Gokudera, who did a poor job at dodging it. Bombs rained down upon the other student. When the smoke encasing Hibari's body dissipated, she saw that there was no degree of red present on his body. He was completely unharmed.

The bloodthirsty intent leaking from his body caused Satou to rush over to Shamal's unconscious body. She began to make attempts to wake him from his slumber as the fights continued. There was no way she was going to be forced into a battle that could cause her harm, not even about the beautiful sakuras.

Hibari rammed his tonfa towards Gokudera, who ducked in response. His knee touched the ground, signaling that Hibari had won. Yamamoto was next. Their battle was short-lived when Hibari revealed that his weapon had a secret hook that grasped Takeshi's sword. It took only a moment for Hibari to land a defeating hit onto the other boy.

Satou sat atop Shamal, sleeping him continuously with both of her hands. Right cheek, left cheek, right cheek, left cheek. "Wake up, sexy love doctor beast!"

"S…Satou…," he murmured. His eyelids fluttered open, but he still seemed out of it.

"Yes, yes! Be awake! Come on!" She shook his shoulders spastically.

He managed to lift his head despite the gleaming in his eyes that told Satou he had no idea where he was. "I'm glad you've finally started calling me by my true name."

She slapped him once more for good measure. "I only called you that to wake you up. I really think that you're horrible looking person, inside and out. Now look, that boy in his boxers with a duster needs your help!"

"Hey, ow. It wouldn't do to wreck my handsome face." He rubbed the pain in his cheek away with his hand. He now seemed more alert than before. "You shouldn't worry so much, Satou," he said, "That's probably why your breasts are so small."

Satou glanced towards the fight to find Hibari reduced to his knees. Her eyes darted between Hibari, Shamal, and Tsuna. She…She couldn't believe it. Was Shamal really so strong now that he could fight people in his sleep!?

"Shamal released the trident mosquito on Hibari the second he was hit," Reborn explained. Oh, yes, that made more sense.

Shamal helped himself to his feet, approaching the Tenth in a calm manner. "Sorry, but I've faced far more life-and-death situations than you have. As a side note, the disease he has is one where he can't stand up near sakura, the _sakura disorientation syndrome_."

Hibari wobbled to his feet. Satou was amazed that he had the willpower in him to stand up while in possession of such a disease. "Rules are rules. Go ahead and enjoy the sakura." At that, he left.

"Now we can finally view the sakura." Yamamoto leaned into Tsuna, almost shoving the shorter boy to the ground.

_"TSUNA!"_

In the distance, Haru, Kyoko, Bianchi, Nana, Lambo and I-Pin could be seen drawing nearer to them. They were all carrying bags, baskets, and boxes.

"Oh, ladies!" Shamal was immediately sent into a world of ecstasy. Satou decided to walk away before she had to witness something she could never forget. A groan escaped her throat as she plopped her bottom down on a nearby bench. She removed her sunhat from her head and set it in her lap. Her fingers played around the edges of it, her heart beating faster at the thought of what was underneath her touch.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a one loud and bossy Gokudera, "Hey, stupid woman! Move to another bench so the Juudaime and I have a place to sit!"

"Fuck off," she seethed. She knew Shamal was here and that he would most likely scold her for acting "unladylike," but it seemed like a fair price to pay for knocking this boy down a few pegs.

Her eyes cut down to his balled up fists and back up to his clenched jaw. "Don't think I wouldn't hit a girl," he growled.

"G-Gokudera-kun, it doesn't really matter. There's another bench over here…" Tsuna gulped. Satou couldn't believe he held some sort of fear towards her. She knew that he was stronger than her, no matter what he thought.

"Why should this bitch get the best spot! ? What has she done! ?"

Satou hopped to her feet in an instant. She set the rim of her sunhat against his chest, her glare so strong that it spoke for itself. She knew that she could do it, rip into his flesh and tear him apart with her blades. All it would've taken was a single quick movement from her hand. "It's too noisy over here anyway," she scoffed before removing it from his torso and walking away towards Shamal.

What an annoying, stress-inducing boy this was. But why couldn't she bring herself to harm him?

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RecordingDreams - aah i guess not many people like OCs haha. and thanks yeah! this used to be a story that had a lot of useless chapters. i kept some of them (kind of like this one though it had a purpose), but the next chapter plays more on satou as a character/person with some of her past. thank you for reading & commenting! :)

TimPix - oh my gosh thank you so much! ;~; that is so sweet of you thank you thank you thank you


	4. Chapter 4

Tsuna entered his home through the door with a sigh. He looked to the couch for Satou. She was absent from her usual spot. He felt a sense of relief. "Kiraime-san is still gone?" he asked his tutor who approached him when he closed the door. Satou had left yesterday, for reasons unknown to Tsuna. He hoped that Reborn would explain.

"Yes. She will be gone for some time. She was called to Italy to hurriedly locate a back-up team full of criminals who recently escaped from a jail," he explained.

"WHAT! ? Is she crazy! ?"

Reborn ignored the question promptly, instantly continuing, "After she is finished with that job, she will return to Japan to visit a friend in the hospital who was in a disastrous traffic accident."

"Traffic…accident? Is this person okay! ?"

"No. Not at all. If the tests come back that Satou has the correct blood type, she will become her friend's organ donor."

"It's that serious?" Tsuna gulped. "I…I didn't know that Kiraime-san had any friends." It seemed insulting to say, but he had never seen her with anyone outside of his immediate circle. He was more curious than anything.

"They met at a boarding school, Satou said."

"She went to boarding school! ? How many secrets are there! ?"

Reborn took a seat on the dining table when they moved to the kitchen. "Satou refers to it as charm school because of how strict it was. But in actuality, it is a boarding school for women in Osaka, Japan."

"Why'd she quit?" Tsuna rested his chin in his two interlocked hands. It was so strange that Satou had been living with them for so long yet he knew almost nothing about her.

"To work on this job," Reborn said. "For Shamal."

"That drunken perverted doctor! ? Why would she do that! ?"

"To pay off his lawsuits."

"_WHAT_!? What does she owe him! ?" Tsuna held the side of his face. It seemed just like Shamal to make poor Satou work to pay off _his_ mistakes. There was just too much for him to handle.

Reborn gripped his fedora, a suddenly very serious aura appearing around him. "Surely you know of how power-lusting the Mafia world can be. Some Mafia families seek to control not only many parts of their neighborhood, but sometimes their entire country. At times they want more than just weapons to make them powerful. That is where human engineering came into play. It just took one Mafia family to create the idea before it spread around the world like a wildfire. Soon every Mafia that wanted power enough to play with a living being's cell structure, body structure, had what they pleased. Satou was just one of the many results of their greed.

"When Satou's mother and father found out that the Mafia that controlled their neighborhood was accepting test subjects for a large amount of pay, they immediately accepted. She was designed to be a hound in a human form. In other words, the perfect tracker that could communicate with them. They would never have to worry about ambushes, traitors, or missing quarry.

"Shamal was assigned to the platoon that invaded the laboratory where the experiments were taking place. As they were taking the names of the children that had been involved in the testing to return them to their parents or put them in foster homes, Shamal found that Satou's record had no name. Ever since the day of her birth, she had been known as '_Test Subject #_34'. He took her under his wing afterwards; he named her, even."

"That was nice of him." A smile was resurrected on Tsuna's face. He wouldn't think the doctor to be that kind of a guy.

"Don't be fooled. He only wanted to use her to smell the scent of men on women at bars to ensure that they weren't married."

The smile on Tsuna's face dropped instantly. "I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!"

"After they were kicked out of their country for Shamal trying to seduce two-thousand and eighty-nine women concurrently, they moved to Japan as Satou was already attending the boarding school there. Occasionally, she would leave to visit Shamal to be trained. When she had learned enough to protect herself in the occurrence that a deal went wrong, she dropped out of boarding school to use her abilities to pay off Shamal's debts."

"Since when could Kiraime-san fight!?" Tsuna tried to picture the girl in the heat of battle. Every situation he could form resulted in the loss of her head.

"She can't. She only knows enough to escape in case something goes awry during her jobs."

"Oh, I see. So why did Doctor Shamal name her Satou?" He was looking for some imprudent answer like '_Sugar was the first thing he saw_'.

"Her attitude was rather callous from being abused and neglected. He named her Satou so that when she hears her name being called, it will remind her to be sweet," Reborn answered.

"R-Really…?" Tsuna gaped. If there was such a deep meaning behind her simple first name, he wondered about her surname. He pursued to ask.

"He got a phonebook, closed his eyes, and picked one that way."

"He really _is_ a horrible guy…" Tsuna frowned. "I feel awful now."

"Don't worry about it. She talks terribly about you when you're not around," Reborn said.

* * *

Satou sat beside her friend's bed, her whole body shaking in terror. Her hand was clenching a tissue forcibly. She would run it along her face when tears would escape from her eyes every now and then. "Imouto…You were always one to do something stupid like that…"

Her parents were on their way to the hospital. Satou found it pathetic that she had managed to travel to Italy, finish a job, and return to Japan quicker than it took her companion's parents to arrive from a business meeting.

Satou understood how her friend must have felt. She knew what it was like to have parents that would rather drink from a bottle of fancy champagne than care for their child. That's why every day, every second, she strived to become a gentle being who, if ever approached with the means of a child, would tend to it with all of the necessary attributes. That's why she was doing what she was doing now. Losing an organ or two for someone who she had taken care of like a sibling for years was a choice that she had made in the heat of the moment. She didn't take the decision back at any time; she didn't try to think about doubting her choice.

And she was hoping that when they lay her upon the operating table that she wouldn't take it back then, either.

"Satou!" The door creaked open.

She turned her head around, seeming startled by the person that stood in the doorway. "Dino-san? What are you doing here?"

"I need to speak with you. It's about the people that you hired for a back-up team. It seems that they've come to Japan," he told her.

"Yes. They traveled back with me." She tried to wipe her running mascara off of her face. She felt pitiable doing business in a position like she was. "Can we talk about this outside? My imouto doesn't need to hear this." She stood up from the chair, trashing the napkin before pulling her arms close to her chest. Her heart ached so heavily.

Dino shut the door behind her. "Who hired you to find them! ?"

"He was a standoffish creep with a weird laugh. I think his name was…Rokudou Mukuro. There were two other guys with him, too. One kept cursing left and right, and the other one just kept staring at me with his weird beady eyes. Why do you need to know? What happened?"

"Rokudou Mukuro recently moved to Japan with two other males. They are now all attending Kokuyou Junior High. Prefects from Namimori Junior High, Tsuna's school, are constantly appearing beaten up and without teeth. Reborn is under the impression that Rokudou Mukuro is the one behind this. He needs the information on the back-up team that you found that escaped from the same jail as Rokudou Mukuro and his two companions."

"Wh-Wh…Shit…That's what they were talking about. I heard them all planning while I was waiting around for my pay that I never received. I heard Fuuta's name, too. Please tell me that he is okay!"

Dino, looking rather displeased, turned back to two of his men that were standing by in their gallant tuxedos. One instantly got the message, running off to check on Fuuta's condition. "What else can you tell me?"

"There were two twins that were walking around in straightjackets. Ummm…And one was a female named B.B. or M.M. or something; I don't know. Something like that. I can recall the last one because he had a bird on his shoulder. That's how I remembered his name. It's Birds. And then there was one more…I'm sorry, but he was quiet, so I can't remember much of anything about him. I'm sure if you pull their records up, he will be there, though."

"Tsuna, with Reborn, Gokudera Hayato, Bianchi and Yamamoto Takeshi, is preparing to infiltrate their base. Hibari Kyouya went in, but never came out."

Satou bit her lip. Nothing seemed to be going well for her. "Can you call Shamal-sensei for me, please? I think he might be able to help."

"Of course. Will you be assisting Tsuna at any time during his battles?" Dino nodded to the last tuxedo man, who pulled out his cellphone in response.

"No. I have other things to tend to, as you can see…Though, I send Tsuna and his friends my condolences." She removed her sun hat that seemed to reside on her head incessantly. She felt so useless in her endeavors.

"I understand."

After they left, she sat about in a state of guilt and confusion for the next hour or so. She knew the kind of people that she had assembled. She knew what they were capable of compared to the Tsuna's Vongola. The blonde buried her face in her hands. This really was her fault, all of it. From outside the door, she smelled a slightly familiar scent.

_"That child, for the sake of saving a cat! It seems that her right eye and some internal organs are already done for…They say she can't be saved."_

_"…Hey now…The doctor said that she can still be saved if she received an organ transplant from a blood relative of the same type."_

_"You've got to be kidding me! Chop up my own body for a child's sake! ? Ever since she was little, that child has never made any friends. Nor can anyone work out what she's thinking. She never became close to you either, did she?"_

_"It isn't just me. No one wished for that child to stay alive this long."_

At each word she heard, her fingernails dug deeper into her hands. How, _how_ could people bring a living creature into this world and treat them this way? She wanted so badly to march into the hallway, to scream at them and let them know that their daughter was loved. That _she_ wished for the younger girl to live, or that while they were arguing over trivial things their daughter was dying. Blood surfaced from under her fingernails.

"Nagi…I swear, I swear when this is over you can come back with me. There's so many nice people there. Th-There's Tsuna-kun, Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto-kun, Reborn-sama…And then the girls like Kyoko-chan and Haru-chan…Even Nana, too…They are so nice. I swear, you will love it there. And you're going to get through this, even if I can't be your donor. I'll force that Rokudou Mukuro to repay me and I'll pay you some damn organs off the Black Market if I have to."

It was in that moment that a splitting pain surfaced within her head. She reeled over, holding her cranium in agony. A whine escaped from her throat.

_"Kufufu…What if I could give you something even better than money in return?"_


End file.
